Pistol optics fad or trend?

[Onepoint]

I see shot show nearly all the new offerings in pistols were optic ready.  I guess I am just stubborn, and not having used them aside from a couple shots and some handling, I have not been enamored with dots on a pistol.  Am I really missing or overlooking something?  Seems to me the amount of retraining spent learning to use them as effectively would just make you better with conventional sights as well.

Are they really an enhancement or a fad of new shiny things?  It does add failure components and increases bulk and profile even with the new micro sights. 

[LESchwartz]

Red dots on pistols need a fair amount of practice (muscle memory) so as to be able to present the pistol such that you can find the dot.  I typically spend several seconds looking for the dot before I find it.  Once I do, any movement at all on my part makes me loose the dot again.  Once I take the shot I'm much more accurate, as my eyes are just too old to focus crisply on the sight and the target at the same time.

I'm told that suppressor height sights can help with the issue of finding the dot (co-witness).  Unfortunately, I was unable to find suppressor height sights cheap enough to want to try them out with the red dot.  Ended up selling the red dot for close to what I paid for it.  I might try again in the future, once prices come down some.

Larry

[Hodgie]

They are definitely not going anywhere. Just like red dots on rifles new shooters are going right to them from the start so there really ain’t much of a learning curve for them. My TX22 competition has a fixed red dot it’s fast and super accurate. I picked up a PSA dagger with an RMR cut for cheap to see how I take to it on a defensive pistol. My recommendation for a dot that actually aids and speeds up your training is any holosun with the ACSS Vulcan reticle. It will get you on target twice as fast and you won’t be searching or chasing your dot. It’s with an extra few bucks in my opinion.

[LESchwartz]

I was using one of the Holosuns for my tests.  They come fairly highly recommended.  I mounted it to to my Glock 17 using the entry level Brownells slide with the RMR cut.

Larry

[Danjal]

It's neither a fad or trend. They've been out for years now. Most folks love them after the initial getting use to them period. I personally don't use them as they're bulky for carry.

[Scratch]

I won a Burris Fastfire like 15 years ago. Mounted it on a 22 pistol and hated it cause I could never find the dot.  Sold it not long after.

Maybe two years ago, I decided to get back into the RDS on pistols game so I got my first one for my G17.  It took me only a week or so until I was faster than I was without it. Not long after that I also became more accurate with them. I now have RDS on all the pistols I train or carry with (3) and will probably never go without one on those.

If you train past the hump, you will become faster and more accurate.

I’ve tried the Holosun, Leupold Delta Point and the RMR, my favorite is the Holosun… although I have had to replace two of the factory included batteries so far.  I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt since they could have been old stock on shelves.

[Onepoint]

Oh it's definitely a trend, seems like more pistols designs include them than without anymore, Taurus introduced a revolver line cut for them.   And I suppose if you are first learning, a dot is no worse than open sights to learn. 

I just don't see the upside, for me. I am not a competition shooter, I am not chasing accuracy in handguns either for that matter. The added size and complexity doesn't make the gun better for what I am doing with a pistol.  For me it's not the same as dot on a rifle which is simple and intuitive, that require almost no training to make use of.

It's not a knock on anyone who likes them, I am just trying to see what I am missing with them, if anything. If I can hit's the plates and poppers I am using then I don't see a benefit, if I can't I don't think it will help, because the problem is still me.

[Logan7]

Tried something like it way back when - and then got rid of it.
A c-more red dot on top of a hunting revolver.
Just could not locate the dot in the small lens held away from my face without searching for it for three or four seconds.

I love red dots on carbines and long guns. Totally different.

And I love my green laser on my carry gun.
For self-defense, I need my focus to be on what the felon is doing, and my bright, glowing green spot painted on him. That's one plane of attention. Keeps it simple for me.

[Frisco Pete]

I’m a little late to the party but I think that red dot type pistol optics are a real trend that will continue to snowball as newer shooters without decades of old iron sight habits use them. A situation similar to scopes on hunting rifles in the 1950s and into the ‘60s.

Personally, I really like red dots on my pistols. I understand that guys of my generation and older (in otherwords - us old guys) have difficulty finding the dot. It is a training issue, just like using irons properly is. I have paid attention to training techniques and have done lots of dry fire practice since I put the first one on my Buck Mark .22 pistol as a trial. And I’ve gotten reasonably fast with them and pick up the red dot naturally anymore. I don’t know if I’m faster for the first shot, but I think I’m faster for follow-up shots, or shots on other targets. I took a defensive pistol course as the acid test for using a RDS and came away feeling that I had done better than I ever had before. In fact I seemed to be shooting faster, especially for pairs, than most of the class. And it seemed easy to do. But it took some practice to get there.

I think that, especially with older eyes, the fact that you only have to focus on the dot which is on the same focal plane as the target is easier.

I also think that accuracy is better, especially at longer distances. I know the RDS on the Buck Mark more than doubled my hit ration on ground squirrels. I have missed more than a few varmints with irons in the past when the range got just a bit long, so I’m glad to have the help of an RDS to place my shots more accurately. That is one reason why the big 10mm pistol of mine has a RDS.

Another reason is for low-light shooting. Not very common, but if you’ve gotta do it, an illuminated dot is way better than something like tritium sights.

I’ve got a couple of friends who are experienced shooters who can’t find the dot. Strangely, I have a couple of other novice shooter friends who have pretty much started with the dot due to their eyesight or some other reason, and they picked it right up naturally. No prior habits to break, I assume.

I’m glad that pistols are coming more and more with the OPTION to use RDS. Options are good. Like I said, I think the time will come when the majority of pistol shooters will be using RDS. The time has long past for it to be a fad. I’m glad I’ve given them a try. They make me a better shooter as far as I’m concerned. 3 out of my last 4 pistols have either come optics-ready, or I had the slide milled for a RDS. The 4th was my SIG P365 EDC pistol, and for close distances that it will likely be used at, the RDS isn’t necessary. But when I was shooting at a skunk about 30 yards away, I can’t help but think if it had worn a RDS, I would have hit it!



Clockwise from upper left: CZ P10 C/Trijicon RMR - Browning Buck Mark/Vortex Viper - CZ P10 F/Holosun 507 C ACSS - SA XDM-10/Holosun 507 C
 

[Onepoint]

I can tell you why I have trouble picking up the dot, I bring the sightline up too low by reflex, too much muscle memory using low iron sights.  Training issue yes.  My cousin really likes his Canik with a dot and suppressor,  and I have been eyeing those PSA optic cut Dagger deals that come along regularly,  but I have to get a cataract removed sometime in the near future, so swapping any sight systems is on hold until the eyes settle out.

[ramblin84]

I've used RDS on my Mark III during steel challenge, as others have said it takes practice in getting the right muscle memory to find the dot.    Iron sights are fixed to your gun purchase and never move so muscle memory is much more intuitive.   I will not use them for CCW as they're bulky and I could never be as fast on target.

RDS on carbines is a whole different animal.  The wheelbase in handling a long gun is longer and more intuitive, similar to shooting a shotgun.  My son (an instructor) removes all sights from his Sporting Clays gun as they only distract from the hand/eye coordination.

[jlwilliams]

The only pistol I have a dot on has the dot cowitnessed to the iron. No muss, no fuss. I practice drawing and taking a sight picture with the optic powered off, then with it on. A basic, dry draw and present drill. I do that fairly regularly. Then when I shoot I never notice any hesitation or searching for the dot. Just point to the target and there it is.

 IMO a handgun that doesn't have iron sights is impractical. If it has irons and an optic, they should both be usable and they should cowitness. It just makes the whole thing work easily.

 I think they are here to stay. Iron sights won't ever be replaced by optics but optics are getting better, more affordable and more widely used.

[1mlt]

I find most pistols these days have mount rails already on them. I purchased (69.00) green laser with flashlight that slides onto the rails, 8 years ago. It's only a couple inches long. Still fits your holster. I love it. You can turn on the flashlight and laser or switch to flashlight or laser. One direction is lock, the other is spring loaded. I like the green because you can still see it at high noon, and not a cloud in the sky. The red was only good if it was dark.